Ghugniघुघनी
⏱ Prep 10m🍳 Cook 70m🍽 Serves 4🌿 Vegan
Video: Bong Eats (YouTube)
Ghugni is Bihar and Bengal's street-corner pulse dish — dried yellow peas simmered with onions, tomatoes, and whole spices until the broth thickens into a fragrant, slightly soupy gravy. In Kolkata it is piled into clay cups with a squirt of tamarind water and raw onion. In Bihar it comes thicker, eaten with puri or litti. Simple, warming, and infinitely satisfying, Ghugni is the kind of food that costs nothing and asks everything of its spices.
📍 Make it in Plano
This recipe is the same everywhere — but where you buy the ingredients and eat the dish is local to you.
Finding Desi spots near Plano…
Ingredients
- ▪dried yellow peas (matar/vatana) — मटर/वातना1½ cups, soaked overnight
- ▪medium onions, finely chopped2
- ▪tomatoes, chopped — टमाटर2 medium
- ▪ginger-garlic paste — अदरक-लहसुन1½ tsp
- ▪mustard oil (for Bengali style) or vegetable oil — सरसों का तेल3 tbsp
- ▪bay leaf — तेज़पत्ता1
- ▪cumin seeds — जीरा½ tsp
- ▪turmeric — हल्दी½ tsp
- ▪cumin-coriander powder — जीरा-धनिया पाउडर1 tsp each
- ▪red chilli powder — लाल मिर्च½–1 tsp
- ▪garam masala — गरम मसाला½ tsp, added at end
- ▪tamarind paste — इमली1 tbsp (or lemon juice to taste)
- ▪salt — नमकto taste
- Garnish
- ▪raw onion, chopped coriander, green chilli, tamarind chutneyas liked
🌍 Cooking abroad? Substitutions
- Dried yellow peas: Available in Indian grocery stores (sold as 'dried matar' or 'yellow peas/vatana') and in mainstream supermarkets in the UK and US. Canned chickpeas can substitute — drain and rinse, skip the pressure cooking, and reduce simmering time to 5 minutes.
- Mustard oil: Essential for the authentic Bengali-Bihari flavour. Available in Indian stores internationally. Smoke it briefly before use to eliminate the raw pungency. Substitute with vegetable oil if unavailable — the dish will taste milder but still good.
- Tamarind paste: Ready-made tamarind paste is widely available in Indian stores. If using a tamarind block, soak a lemon-sized piece in ½ cup warm water, squeeze, and strain before adding. Lemon juice (2–3 tsp) is a lighter substitute that shifts the acid profile slightly.
Method
- 1Drain the soaked yellow peas. Pressure cook with 2½ cups water and ½ tsp turmeric for 3–4 whistles until fully cooked but still holding their shape. Alternatively, simmer in a covered pot for 45–55 minutes. Reserve the cooking liquid.
- 2Heat mustard oil in a heavy pan until it just begins to smoke (this removes its sharpness). Reduce heat. Add bay leaf and cumin seeds; let them splutter for 30 seconds.
- 3Add the chopped onions and cook over medium heat until deep golden, about 12–15 minutes. Add ginger-garlic paste and cook 2 minutes.
- 4Add chopped tomatoes, turmeric, red chilli powder, and cumin-coriander powder. Cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes break down and the oil separates at the edges, about 8 minutes.
- 5Add the cooked peas along with their reserved liquid. Stir well. Add tamarind paste and salt. Simmer uncovered for 10–12 minutes until the broth reduces to a medium-thick, flavourful gravy.
- 6Stir in garam masala, check salt and tamarind balance, and cook 2 more minutes.
- 7Serve hot in bowls topped with raw chopped onion, green chilli, fresh coriander, and a drizzle of tamarind chutney. Eat with puri, litti, or just on its own.
A Desi.Net original recipe · part of our Indian Cuisine library. Confirm details and adjust to taste.